Description

While the Blur Carbon's at home rubbing shoulders on cross-country race courses and the Blur LT Carbon loves backcountry adventures, there was a void that left endurance racers and riders yearning for XC weight with trail-negotiating travel. Santa Cruz listened and answered with the Blur TR carbon that splits the difference right down the middle.

The front triangle of the Blur TR Carbon is constructed as once piece, rather than having components produced separately, and then bonded or wrapped. Additionally, the carbon fibers are continuous around tube junctions -- to distribute load and absorb impact energy better. Plus, the frame looks as good on the inside as it does on the outside, there's nothing except smooth carbon. And just like the Blur XC Carbon, there are no riveted or bonded-on cable and hose guides, as they're incorporated into the original layup. The stiff carbon chassis is paired with the latest generation Virtual Pivot Point rear suspension.

The upper and lower links flatten out the shock rate and provide a more active feel to the early end of the axle path. The suspension allows the rear wheel to move up and back as you ride over a bump, and it balances the downward force of pedaling with the pulling force of the chain through its link configuration and axle path. The resulting movement makes it easier to roll over a bump or through a dip, and the suspension doesn’t change whether you’re in the saddle or not.

The Blur TR has a carbon fiber upper link that shaves weight and enhances lateral stiffness. It's counterpart on the bottom is alloy, and it has easily-serviceable grease ports. The pivots for both links have beefy 15mm locking collet axle-pins so they won't creak or loosen, and they run on intricately-sealed bearings that should last the life of the frame.

The VPP suspension of the Santa Cruz Blur TR Carbon yields 125mm of smooth travel damped by a Fox CTD rear shock -- a lightweight, reliable shock that's features an intuitive interface for simple, on-the-fly suspension tuning. It has three distinct settings; a firm 'Climbing' setting, medium 'Trail' setting, and a plush 'Descend' setting. This keeps operation straightforward and intuitive for beginners and experts alike.

The Drivetrain is a 3 x 10 composed primarily of Shimano SLX, including the cranks, derailleurs, shifters, and cassette. Stopping the Blur TR R XC is a set of Avid Elixir 5 brakes with 160mm rotors. The brake levers hang on a Race Face Ride handlebar , with a Ride stem and seatpost with WTB Volt saddle finishing the build.

The Santa Cruz Blur R XC Complete Mountain Bike Comes in sizes Small through X-Large, and two colors; Black/Silver and White.

Why SLX derailleurs? A $4,000 bike should...

I'm with you there, but SLX it is. I think the idea is that the heavier SLX is slightly more durable for all-mountain stuff (where you might hit it on rocks/logs/detritus/etc.) than the lighter XT or XTR stuff.